Cooking device



June 5, 1956 M. 1 LlPslcl-l ET AL 2,748,169@

COOKING DEVICE Original Filed April 7 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 5, 1956M. 1 I lPslcH ET A1.

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m, @Mmmm m. ,a @www M -5 mgm a mmm fw.. r 1+@ gli W United States PatentO COOKING DEVICE Maurice L. Lipsich and Fred C. Schwaneke, Chicago,Ill.,

assignors to Dol-'meyer Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation ofIllinois Original application Aprill 7, 19'51, Serial No. 219,796,

now Patent No, 2,710,906, .dated Junef14, 1955. Digiltegld thisapplication November '1, 1952, Serial No.

The present invention r'elates to a food cooker and more particularlytoV an electric device for making waffles, grilling `sandwiches andbroiling steaks and the like.

This application is a division of applicants c'o-pending applicationSerial No; 219,796 tiled* April 7, 1951 now Patent No; 2,710,906;

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an electrical' cookingdevice which wili bake, grill and broi'l variousv foods withr equalfacility and with little if any inconvenience' to theY user'in doingvthese various operations in succession.

A further object of the invention' is' to' provide an improvedconstruction Which will accommodate food requiring a diherent spacingbetween' two' cooperating ,cooking elements over a wide rangev and`will'y permit the positioning of the elements in any' `one of threediierentv positions angularly' with'. respe'cttov each other for accessand use.

A further object of the invention` is to provide adevice of thel classdescribed which is'. easy toY operate, single and inexpensive to'manufacture and maintain yet rugged enough to withstand abuse and lackof care.

These being among the objects of the invention other and further objectswill appear from the drawings', the description relatingthereto andtheappended claims.

Referring `now to the drawings: l

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a combination wa'ile, grill andbroilercooking device embodying the inventionwitn the upper' and lowereating units locatedin their closed or waffle baking position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig'. 1 with the topunit raised eitherV for removing a' baked wa-liie, or pouring'in batterfor' a wailie to be baked, or for receiving a sandwich to be grilled.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofthedevi'ce shownV in Figs. l and 2with thetop Vunit moved 180 from its closed position to a position in` which itis supported' in the same plane with the lower unit as whenA the upperand lower units are to be used independently as' hot plates, griddles',or heaters.

Fig.A 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 in which the upper and lower unitscooperate to grill a sandwich as when the upper unit is supported abovethe lower unit by the sandwich itself.

Fig. 5 is view similar tol-iig. 1 inwhich theupper unit is supported ona wire rack well above vthe lower unit for broiling purposes with 4the.upper grid'remo'ved.-

Fig., 6 is a View of the parts making up the hingelembodied in theinvention.l

Fig. 7 is a planview ofI the lower unit with the plate mounted in' grillposition and the novel wire" rack in' place when it is used forbroiling..

Fig. 8 is a fragmentarysectional view taken on the line 8-8'o'Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation takenY at the line 9-9-on Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a plan viewshowinglthe `w'aiiie side Vof the plate.

The invention is characterized" b'y` novel hinge, switch and heaterconstructions fandarrangement whereby the 2,748,690 Patented June 5,1956 2. upper grill member operates to grill, bake and broil with thesame heating elements in a device which operates also as a waffle bakeruponV occasion.

In one'instan'ce, the upper and lower units cooperate as atwafll'e makeras determined by the hinge relationship when the switch is set at apredetermined position. In this relationship the upper grill is limitedin its pivoted movement to approximately from horizontal' to 10 pastvertical for access'in applying' the batter and removing the waflle.Reversal of the grill plates permits the device to serve asl a sandwichgrill. In both instances the cooking operation' is thermos'taticallycontrolled and the weight of the upper unit is in part carried by andshapes or attens the food being prepared.

When one desires to use the device as a hot plate, the' upper member israised to` its upper limit and lifted a small: fraction of an inch toclear the hinge stops' whereupon the upper member can be moved furtherand laid flat to occupy the same planev as that of the' lower member.

In this position the upper element can also be used as a hot plateeither with the grid element present or removed. If removed, otherspecial cooking elements like pressure cookers, deep fat fryers andtoasters can be set upon or attached to the upper element withtheeheater coil supporting insulators serving as' a spider. On' theother hand, if the grid element is left in place other cooking utensilscan be set upon it as though upon a stove top.

For broiling meats or toasting bread the grid on the upper member isremoved and a novel wire rack is placed upon' the lower grid to carrythe meat or breadv slices. Upstanding loops on the wirev rack engagetheY upper housing when it is'lowered and support it well: above thefood as accommodatedby the hinge. In this instance only the upperheating unit is employed to accomplish the broiling or toastingoperation and theV heat output there is much higher than that dispensedvfor' waflle makingA or grilling.

Referring tol the drawings in further detail a cooking device is shownin' Fig. l which has upper and lower die stamped housing or shells, 20and 21 respectively, hinged together by a hinge represented generally at22.. At the front ofthe-lower member 2`f1 is secured' an Velem-ent 23which has a foot 24 anda panel 25 (Fig. 1) which ini cludes a pointer 30and a handle 31 for a control switch (not shown).

At the rear of the housing 21 there are provided feet 32 which aresecured in place in any suitable manner' and are provided withrearwardly offset extremities 33' which preventV tipping of the devicewhen the top member is raised as shown: inl Fig. 2. On bothsides of thelower housing 4v are secured handles 34, having horizontal portions 35imade of a materialof low heat conductivity so that a users lingers will:not be burned when lifting or moving the device.

At the front of the upper housing 20 is secured anelement. 3'6',matching element 23 in style and design, with a central upstandingear-'37 serving three purposes, namely, as a handle for raising andlowering the element; as a leg when the topmemberis'moved to theposition shownin- Fig. 3.; and, as a housing for the tell-tale light sothat it can be seen: in` any position to which the upper housingmaybemoved. Theheight of thehandle above the top of the upper member is thesame` as the height of the legs 24 below the lower member so that bothof the two elements are level and also level with each other.

The hinge 22 comprises two main units (Fig. 6), an upper unit40 and alower unit 41, two connecting links 42 andpins as hereinafterdescribed.' Both units are preferably made of heavy sheet metalandstamped to have two lsymmetrically arrangedend portions shaped asshown at43"and 44; which end portions are connected'by bandi portions 45and 46;.respe'ctively- The units are secured to the respective top andbottom housings and 21 along their band portions by being riveted to theback sidewall of the respective shells. It is preferred that adjacentedges of the two bands be flush or coincide with the adjacent edges ofthe two shells. Two frontwardly opening hook-like ears 46 are struckfrom the upper band to extend below the lower edge of the upper shell 20as more particularly seen in Fig. 5 where it serves to locate and securethe wale plate as later described.

The lower end sections 44 have a long vertical slot 47 centrally thereinand two ears on its front edge 48. The upper ear 50 is bent to occupy aplane parallel to the band 46 whereas the lower ear 51 serves as theupper boundary of a notch 52 which receives and secures in place thegrid on the lower housing 21 as later described. The edges of the lowerend sections 44 are otherwise rounded to an oval form.

The upper end section 43 has two horizontally spaced holes 53 and 54 inthe lower portion thereof, and the lower front edge of the upper sectionis curved on a radius having the hole 53 in the center. At the rear edgethe curve straightens out to provide a stop at 55, directly below thehole 54. Contiguous to, above and at approximately right angles to thestop 55 is a slightly rounding cam surface 56 whose upper end forms anappreciable recess at 57 is conjunction with the remaining rear edgeportion 58, which edge portion thereabove follows the oval contour ofthe lower end section 41 over this area.

The link 42 is offset intermediate its ends to provide appropriateclearances and is pivotally connected at its upper end to the uppermember by a pin 60. The pin is received in the opening 54 in the uppermembers and in the opening 61 at the upper end of the link. The lowerend of the link has a second opening 62 which receives the shank of apin 63 that in turn slides in the slot 47 with the head of the pinlocated on the opposite side of the slot from the link.

The upper and lower sections 43 and 44 are also slidably mounted withrespect to each other by pins 64, the shank ends of which are receivedin the holes 53 on the upper member with the other ends extendingthrough the slots 47 and terminating in heads disposed on the outsidefaces of the upper member. In the assembly shown in the rst 6 figuresthe lower members 44 of the hinge are located on the outside of theupper members 43 and the links are disposed between the members. Onlythe heads of the pins 63 and 64 are seen in the side elevation.Preferably the link in its resting position is disposed at approximatelya 45 angle from the center line of the slot 47. This provides maximummovement between the hinge members for all purposes.

In those instances where grilling or broiling operation is desired thehinge has a sliding relationship as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In eachinstance the whole hinge assembly merely slides vertically to therequired height. However, it will be noticed that the pin 64 is wellabove the ear 50, sufficiently so that the stop 55 could clear the ear50. If the stop did clear the ear the raised portion in Fig. 2 could notbe attained. To prevent this the link 42 moves the pin 63 downwardly asthe top member is raised. Thus as the top member approaches a verticalposition the pin has moved downwardly until it reaches the bottom of theslot and locates the upper pin 64 where the stop 55 will engage the ear50 so that the initial 100 of movement is always under the control andlimited by the stop 55.

The upper and lower elements 20 and 21 carry identical grids 66preferably die cast of aluminum. The grids are perfectly square so thatthey may be received in the open mouths of the shells in any one of fourways with either face of the grids exposed. One face 67 of the grids isprovided with the usual waffle contour or bosses 4 68 bounded by a land70 and divided into four equal quadrants by cross lands 71.

The opposite face 74 of the grid is flat, being bounded marginally byland 75 interrupted at one corner to provide a trough-like drain 76which has a drain lip 77 from which grease or oils will drip into areceptacle such as a saucer or cup (not shown) disposed at one corner ofthe device when it is used as a grill or broiler. The drain trough 76when mounted in place can be disposed at any corner of the shell wheredesired. This universality of the grid and positioning of the draintrough follows from the fact that a horizontal ange 78 is providedmarginally around each grid to engage and rest interchangeably upon themarginal edges of the shells 20 and 21. This iiange 78 is disposedcloser to the waffle face 67 than it is to the grill face 74. In fact,the flange 78 is so located that it is equidistant from the planesdefined by the tops of the waffle bosses 68 and the at face 74 of thegrid.

When the device is used as a broiler the upper grid is removed asalready mentioned. The lower grid is turned to have the grill sidedisposed upwardly and thereon is mounted a rack 134, more particularlyshown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. The rack comprises an outer or boundary wiredisposed inside and following close to the flange 75. Welded at theirends on this supporting wire are cross wires 136, one of which, 136a, islonger than the others and is upturned at its ends to form hook-shapedmember 137 which loops over and down behind the flange 75 to hold therack in place.

There are four wire members 138 which at one end have a similarhook-line shape 137 secured to the member 135 while at the other end thewire is bent upwardly as at 140 and outwardly as at 141 to extend overthe top of the flange 75 and rest thereon. From hence the wire beyondthe portion 141 is then bent upwardly as at 142 with a reverse loop 143in the top thereof and terminates in a downwardly extending portion 144which is welded to the wire 135 with an end 145 thereof engaging insidethe ilange 75.

The arrangement of the wires 138 is such that the two rearmost members138, indicated at a and b in Fig. 7, have the loop portions 143 disposedat opposite sides from each other at a point appreciably forward of therear edge 146 of the grid or housing. Thus the two loops 143 serve as apivot-like support point to receive in cradled relationship the low rearmarginal edges of the upper housing when the upper housing is lowered toits broiling position. Thus the rear of the housing is supported at theupper limit permitted to it by the hinge members. The other two members138 identified by the letters c and d are disposed with their loopmembers at the front side of the housing where they catch and supportthe front lower marginal edge of the housing when it is lowered intobroiling position. Thus the upright portions 142 of the rack support theupper shell member at the exact and proper point for broilingoperations. The remaining portions of the rack are held in place byflange engaging members to support meat or the like on the cross wiresabove contact with the lower grill portion so that any liquids broilingfrom the food can drain freely away through the drain trough on thegrid. The rack can be manipulated and carried by the loops 143.

As will be seen in Figs. l, 2 and 4 it will be apparent that thetell-tale light is visible to the user regardless of the position theupper unit is disposed in for cooking operations, not only to apprisethe user of the readiness of the device for baking operations but alsowhether or not the device might be hot if otherwise a person would tryto investigate by touching it.

Consequently, to those skilled in the art it is apparent from thedescription and drawings how the objects and results are accomplishedand how various and further constructions and arrangements can be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of whichis commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l; In a device of the class described'a removablelrack for broilingmeats under a raisable -cover having a sheet metal edge and comprising aframe, cross members secured to said frame, and secondarymembers securedto the frame and cross members, two of said cross members and two ofsaid secondary members being identical members having upwardlyarched'end portions disposed beyond the boundary of said frame, one ofsaid end portions extendingmuch higher than the other and havingfavalley in the upper portion for receiving therein in restingrelationship the sheet metal edge parallel with one side of said framein vertical alignment therewith, said higher end portions serving ashandles for lifting the rack, and means on said rack serving as legswhen the rack is set up on a ilat surface.

2. In a device of the class described a removable rack for broilingmeats under a raisable cover having a sheet metal edge and comprising awire frame, wire cross members secured to said frame, and wire secondarymembers secured to the frame and cross members, two of said crossmembers and two of said secondary members being identical wire membershaving upwardly arched end portions disposed beyond the boundary of saidframe, one of said end portions extending much higher than the other andhaving a reversely bent upper portion for receiving therein in restingrelationship the sheet metal edge disposed parallel with one side ofsaid frame in vertical alignment therewith, said higher end portionsserving as loop-like handles for lifting the rack and the terminals ofeach end portion being bent downwardly to serve as legs for supportingthe rack above a fiat surface.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a bottommember having a grill member therein bordered by an upstanding ange; anupper housing member having downward turned sidewalls defining anopening; a secondary member mounted in said opening and supporting aheater coil within said opening above the lower edges of the sidewalls;a hinge interconnecting the two members including a hinge element havinga slot and a cooperating hinge member having a pin slidable in the slotand a link pivoted to the cooperating hinge element at one side of thepin and having a pin slidable in the slot below the rst pin; and a rackhaving elements disposed adjacent the hinge engaged by edges of saidsidewalls for supporting the rear side of the upper member well abovethe grill, said link carrying said upper member at a height sufficientfor the edges to engage said rack elements when the upper member islowered, and elements adjacent the front engaged by the edges of saidsidewalls to support the upper member in a raised and substantiallylevel position in vertical alignment with the grill when the frontportion of the upper member is fully lowered.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a bottommember having a grill member therein bordered by an upstanding flange,an upper housing member having downward turned sidewalls dening anopening, a secondary member mounted in said opening and supporting aheater coil within said opening above the lower edges of the sidewalls,a hinge interconnecting the two members including a hinge element havinga vertical slot and a cooperating hinge element having a pintle slidablein the slot, and a rack having fulcrum elements disposed adjacent thehinge engaged by edges of said sidewalls for leverage raising the rearside of the upper member when the upper member is lowered from a raisedposition and like elements adjacent the front engaged by the edges ofsaid sidewalls to support the upper member in a substantially levelposition at the upper limit of the hinge slot when the front portion ofthe upper member is fully lowered, said elements upon the racks servingas handles when the upper member is raised, said rack havingprotuberances engaging the upstanding ange to locate the rack and theupper member in vertical alignment when the upper member is lowered.

5I. Inra device of the class described, the combination of a bottommember havingY a grill membery therein bordered by an upstanding flange,an upper housing member having downward turned sidewalls defining anopening at its edges, a secondary member mounted lin said opening andsupporting a-heater coil within said opening above the edges of thesidewalls, a hinge interconnecting the two members including a hingeelement having a vertical slot and a cooperating hinge element having apintle slidable in the slot, means for elevating the upper hinge aboveits closed position when raised including a rack having fulcrum elementsdisposed adjacent the hinge engaged by portions of the edges of saidsidewalls when the upper member is lowered from a raised position, andelements remote from the hinge engaged by other portions of the edges ofsaid sidewalls, said elements extending above the level of the centralportion of the rack to support the upper member in a raised andsubstantially level position when the front portion of the upper memberis fully lowered.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a bottommember having a grill member therein bordered by an upstanding flange,an upper housing member having downward turned sidewalls defining anopening at its edges, a secondary member mounted in said opening andsupporting a heater coil in said opening above the edges of thesidewalls, `a hinge interconnecting the two members at the rear of themembers including a hinge element having a vertical slot and acooperating hinge element having a pintle slidable in the slot, meansfor elevating the upper hinge above its closed position when raised, anda rack having elements disposed adjacent to the hinge engaged by edgesof said sidewalls when the upper member is lowered from a raisedposition, and other elements adjacent the front of the members engagedby the edges of said sidewalls, said elements extending above thecentral portion or" the rack to support the upper member in a raised andsubstantially level position when the front portion of the upper memberis fully lowered, said rack comprising a wire frame, wire cross memberssecured to said frame, and wire secondary members secured to the frameand crossmembers, two of said crossmembers and two of said secondarymembers constituting said elements and being identical wire membershaving upwardly arched end portions beyond said frame, one of `said endportions extending much higher than the other and having a reverselybent upper portion for receiving therein n resting relationship thesidewall edge parallel with one side of said frame in verticallalignment therewith, said higher end portions serving as loop-likehandles for lifting the rack and the terminals of each end portion beingbent downwardly to serve as legs for supporting the rack above a flatsurface.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a bottommember having a grill member therein bordered by an upstanding flange,an upper housing member having downward turned sidewalls defining anopening at its edges, a secondary member mounted in said opening andsupporting a heater coil within said opening above the edges of thesidewalls, a hinge interconnecting the two members including a hingeelement having a vertical slot and a cooperating hinge element having apintle slidable in the slot, and means for elevating the upper hingeabove its closed position when raised including a rack having a wireframe, wire cross members secured to said frame, and wire secondarymembers secured to the frame and cross members, two of said membershaving fulcrum elements disposed adjacent to the hinge engaged by edgesof said sidewalls to raise the upper hinge when the front portion of theupper members is lowered from a raised position, and the other twomembers having elements adjacent the front engaged by the edges of saidsidewalls, said elements extending above the central portion of the rackto support the upper member in a raised and substantially level positionwhen the front portion of the upper member is fully lowered, saidelements serving as loop-like handles for lifting the rack.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS744,785 McCaughey Nov. 24, 1903 1,169,831 Jeavons Feb. 1, 1916 1,726,757Murphy Sept. 3, 1929 lo 1,837,232 Reinhardt Dec. 22, 1931 8 Barnes et alJuly 12, 1932 Trenncr et al Aug. 30, 1932 Rehm May 14, 1935 Jones Feb.25, 1936 Barkinsky et a1. Nov. 1, 1938 Moon Jan. 30, 1940 Schaefer June27, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany July 16, 1938

